‘Cuban Conundrum’ vexes pollsters, Obama

Call it the Cuban Conundrum — a problem for pollsters who find Florida Hispanics are far more Republican than anywhere else in the nation.

It’s on full display in the latest Florida International University/Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald poll of likely Hispanic Florida voters showing President Barack Obama clings to a narrow 51-47 percent lead over Republican Mitt Romney.

But nationwide, the poll shows, Obama leads by a far bigger margin among likely Hispanic voters.

The difference in Florida: Cuban voters. Without them, the FIU poll shows, Obama would handily win likely Florida Hispanic voters 65-32 percent.

Not only are Cubans reliable Republican voters — they’re about 70 percent of Miami-Dade’s registered Republicans — but they’re also more likely to answer surveys like the FIU poll.

“Cuban-American voters pick up the phone and answer. They want to be heard,” said Eduardo Gamarra, an FIU professor of Latin American studies who conducted the poll with his political research firm, the Newlink Group.

The sheer response rate and strong backing for Romney among voters of Cuban ancestry has cropped up in other Florida polls. Together, the polls could be detecting an unrivaled intensity for the Republican ticket that could help keep Obama from a second Florida win — and therefore a second-term in the White House.

Gamarra, a registered Democrat of Bolivian descent, actually had to scale back the number of Cuban-American respondents in the poll, a process known as “weighting,” which he prefers not to do.

Gamarra stopped polling in South Florida all together when he concluded the three-day survey last week in order to reach other Hispanics — those of Puerto Rican, Mexican and South and Central-American ancestry.

“Polling Florida Hispanics is extremely difficult,” Gamarra said. “It’s not just a Cuban conundrum, but it’s a Florida and Miami-Dade conundrum.”

Gamarra weighted the poll to reflect a Cuban response rate of 40 percent because Cubans, though they account for about a third of Hispanic voters in Florida, tend to vote in disproportionately high numbers.

The poll reflects a response rate of 30 percent among Puerto Ricans, who account for an estimated 28 percent of Hispanic voters in Florida and tend to live in Central Florida, where they vote more Democratic.

Thanks to the strong Cuban-American influence, Obama is barely winning on the issues in Florida, according to the poll of 1,100 likely Florida Hispanic voters. A separate poll of national voters sampled 1,000 respondents. The bilingual Florida poll has an error margin of 2.9 percentage points, the national poll of 3.1 percentage points.

Obama beats Romney 51-49 percent in Florida on who’s better in managing the economy. The national Obama-Romney numbers on the question: 70-30.

On handling foreign policy or managing immigration, Obama edges Romney 53-47 percent in Florida. The national numbers: 71-29 in Obama’s favor.

In Florida, 43 percent want to keep Obamacare intact; 35 percent say scrap it and 22 percent say keep some parts. Nationally, 60 percent want to keep Obamacare intact; 20 percent say scrap it and 20 percent say keep some parts.

Obama does best in Florida when asked who’s looking out for Latinos. He beats Romney, 51-43 percent. Nationally, Obama wins: 70-27 percent.

Manuel Pardo, the former Sweetwater cop who killed nine people, claiming they were “scum of the earth,” will be executed Dec. 11, the governor’s office said Tuesday. 1351644004

President Obama comfortably leads Mitt Romney among Hispanics nationwide, but only narrowly in Florida — thanks to conservative Cuban-American voters.

It will take several days before the judge decides whether Wonder should face criminal charges.

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Prosecutors and defense lawyers began to make their cases Tuesday in a “Stand Your Ground’’ hearing.

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State amendments: from health reform to tax relief

A synopsis of the proposed constitutional amendments on the Nov. 6 ballot. The amendments must receive at least 60 percent of the vote to pass.

There is no Amendment 7

AMENDMENT 1, HEALTHCARE SERVICES

THE AMENDMENT: This amendment is aimed at prohibiting the government from directly or indirectly compelling employers to buy or provide healthcare coverage for their employees. It also makes clear in the constitution that people may pay healthcare providers directly for care — and don’t have to have insurance, and can’t be forced to pay a penalty or tax for paying out of pocket for healthcare.

CONTEXT: Opponents say the proposal would have no effect at nullifying its intended target, the federal healthcare individual mandate, because of the supremacy of federal law over state law. Backers say it would prevent future attempts to put similar healthcare requirements on residents.

AMENDMENT 2: HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR VETERANS

THE AMENDMENT: The proposal would provide an additional homestead exemption to wounded veterans who were not residents of the state when they entered military service. The proposal would exempt from taxation a property’s value between $50,000 and $75,000.

CONTEXT: Florida law already provides an additional homestead exemption to military personnel disabled while in combat. The amendment simply expands the exemption to disabled veterans who may have been residents of other states when the disability occurred but who now reside in Florida.

AMENDMENT 3: REVENUE LIMITATION

THE AMENDMENT: Proposed Amendment 3 would replace the existing state revenue cap, which is based on personal income growth in Florida, with a new one based on inflation and population changes. If the state were to collect more in taxes than the formula allows, it would have to be put into a reserve fund, and not spent, and at some point would have to be used for reducing local property taxes for schools or returned to taxpayers. The cap could be raised only with a super majority vote in the Legislature.

CONTEXT: The state has never actually hit the current cap.

AMENDMENT 4: PROPERTY TAX RESTRICTIONS

THE AMENDMENT: The proposal would reduce the cap on tax assessment increases from 10 percent to 5 percent a year on commercial property. The plan also would provide an additional, temporary property tax break for first-time homebuyers and prevents tax assessments from going up when the market value of the property goes down.

CONTEXT: Backers say the amendment will continue efforts to rein in the increase in property taxes by expanding protections now afforded to homeowners. Opponents, including the Florida Association of Counties, say the measure will further hamstring cash-strapped local governments, which rely on property tax revenue for the bulk of their funding.

AMENDMENT 5: RULES FOR STATE COURTS

THE AMENDMENT: Proposed Amendment 5 would require Senate confirmation for state Supreme Court justices appointed by the governor and make it easier for lawmakers to influence court procedural rules, allowing them to change them with a simple majority vote, rather than a super majority. The proposal also would give lawmakers more access to confidential files involving judges accused of misconduct.

CONTEXT: Many lawyers and judges who oppose the amendment say lawmakers are trying to assert more control over a judiciary that many Republican legislators think has surpassed its own authority too often.

It is very unlikely that the peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC narcoguerrillas will come to a good end. It is even possible that they’re not a good idea.

For 53 years, the Cuban exile community in South Florida and other parts of the world has been combating the Castro brothers and their totalitarian system of government. We have been fighting what seems to be, at times, an endless battle. A struggle we live each day over a café Cubano or by reminiscing with our grandparents about the Cuba of the past.

State and local governments, struggling to emerge from the aftermath of the financial crisis, face another looming funding gap: in their public pensions. These plans hold almost $3 trillion in assets and cover more than 10 percent of U.S. workers, so they’re an important force in the economy.

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Disney to make new 'Star Wars' films, buy Lucas co

LOS ANGELES -- A decade since George Lucas said "Star Wars" was finished on the big screen, a new trilogy under new ownership is destined for theaters after The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it would buy Lucasfilm Ltd. from him for $4.05 billion.

The seventh movie, with a working title of "Episode 7," is set for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will follow. The trilogy will continue the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond "Return of the Jedi," the third film released and the sixth in the saga. After that, Disney plans a new "Star Wars" movie every two or three years. Lucas will serve as creative consultant in the new movies.

"I'm doing this so that the films will have a longer life," Lucas, the 68-year-old creator of the series and sole owner of Lucasfilm, said in an interview posted on YouTube. "I get to be a fan now ... I sort of look forward to it. It's a lot more fun actually, than actually having to go out into the mud and snow."

Disney CEO Bob Iger said Lucasfilm had already developed an extensive storyline on the next trilogy, and Episode 7 was now in early-stage development. He said he talked with Lucas about buying the company from him a year and a half ago, but they didn't decide on a deal until very recently as Lucas set in motion his retirement.

"The last 'Star Wars' movie release was 2005's 'Revenge of the Sith' - and we believe there's substantial pent-up demand," Iger said.

The blockbuster deal announced Tuesday will see Disney pay half the acquisition price in cash and half in newly issued stock. The company expects it to add to earnings in 2015 and said that as an example of its earnings power, Lucasfilm made $550 million in operating income the year "Sith" came out. Along with the cash, Lucas will end up owning about 40 million Disney shares, which is about 2.2 percent of the 1.83 billion shares that will be in circulation when the transaction closes. Disney did not say when that would happen.

The deal includes Lucasfilm's prized high-tech production companies, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, as well as rights to the "Indiana Jones" franchise. Lucasfilm will continue to be headquartered in San Francisco's Presidio park, and employees are to remain in their current locations. Disney has its headquarters in Burbank, Calif., near Los Angeles.

The deal brings Lucasfilm under the Disney banner with other brands including Pixar, the Muppets, Marvel, ESPN and ABC, all companies that Disney has acquired over the years. Coincidentally, Lucas created Pixar as a division of Lucasfilm to develop computerized filmmaking techniques before he sold it to Apple's Steve Jobs, who later sold it to Disney.

Twitter went wild with the news as fans speculated on mash-up titles for future movies, using the hashtag "DisneyStarWars." Among the amusing attempts were "When You Wish Upon a Death Star" and "Bambi Wan Kenobi." "Star Wars," "LucasArts," "Disney," and "Indiana Jones" were all trending topics on Twitter after the deal was announced late Tuesday afternoon.

Fan club co-founder Ming Pan, a graphic designer in San Francisco, said he was glad audiences would get another "Star Wars" movie but worried whether the franchise would thrive after Lucas passes the torch.

"It's something that I thought may happen down the line, but I just didn't expect it to happen while Lucas was still alive because he has always expressed such a tight control over the 'Star Wars' license," Pan said.

AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this story.

The iPad mini sports a screen just under 8 inches and a price of $329. And when it debuts Friday, it will not enter a vacuous 7-inch tablet market. Its opponents compete on price, ecosystem, performance and features. Each offers something unique.

Two products make a great combination for an earful of tunes while on a leisurely bike ride.

Heard in the high school hallway: #.

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Hurricane Sandy causes flight cancelations at MIA, Fort Lauderdale

More than 20 flights out of South Florida's two major airports were canceled Sunday afternoon due to Hurricane Sandy’s approach to the Northeast.

Among those were 15 flights from Miami International and 10 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

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A major truck crash has closed southbound Okeechobee Road. One of the drivers, who was missing among the debris for a while, has been found dead.

A Key Biscayne officer struggles to once again be the fun-loving person she was before she was injured in the shooting on Florida’s Turnpike in May.

The Sweetwater police officer who died in a motorcycle crash Sunday will be buried Tuesday.

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5 things to know in Florida for Oct. 31

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.

1. DEATH WARRANT FOR MAN CONVICTED OF 9 MURDERS

Gov. Rick Scott has signed a death warrant for a man convicted of nine murders. Manuel Pardo Jr. is scheduled to die by lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Raiford at 6 p.m., Dec. 11.

2. CENTRAL FLORIDA MAN RECOVERING FROM DENGUE FEVER

A central Florida man is recovering from dengue fever. Health officials said Tuesday that the 19-year-old Seminole County man was diagnosed with dengue fever based on his symptoms and lab tests. Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes.

3. NEW GAMBLING CRUISE TO SET SAIL FROM PALM BEACH

A new gambling cruise is about to launch in Palm Beach. Black Diamond says its 160-foot vessel is nearly done with a $5 million renovation. A final Coast Guard inspection is set for Thursday. Operators hope to have it running within days.

4. CHALK FESTIVAL UNDERWAY IN SARASOTA

The annual Sarasota Chalk Festival begins this week and runs through Nov. 6. The world's top street artists create temporary works of art on the pavement, while sketching and "painting" on the asphalt with chalk.

5. CHILD WELFARE OFFICIALS DISCUSS HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Florida's child welfare officials are discussing their plans to fight human trafficking. The Florida Children and Youth Cabinet will hold its regular meeting Wednesday in Coral Gables at the University of Miami. The group will discuss the state's plans to fight human trafficking and provide assistance to victims.

No tickets matched the four winning numbers plus the Mega Ball number, so the jackpot rolled over to an estimated $2 million in the Mega Money game, the Florida Lottery said Wednesday. 1351679952

One winner of the "Fantasy 5" game will collect $192,116.92, the Florida Lottery said Wednesday. 1351679952

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today. 1351678713

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Puerto Rican first-time voters, especially in Florida, could be a critical game-changer in presidential race

Diana Caballero is the ultimate swing voter in the ultimate swing state, a member of a sought-after demographic that could help decide the 2012 presidential race.

The South Beach beauty product distributor is among a growing legion of voters who hail from Puerto Rico, where citizens do not have the right to cast ballots in a presidential election. At 34, this vote will be her first for the country’s top post. And like many of the more than 300,000 Puerto Ricans who have moved to Florida in the past decade, her electoral decision is either candidate’s taking.

Experts say the importance of voters like her cannot be understated, particularly in Florida, a state where the 2000 election was such a close call that it was decided by manual count.

“In Puerto Rico, U.S. politics wasn’t that important. I never kept up with what the Republicans promised or what the Democrats said they would do,” she said. “To have to make a decision in such a short time is a little scary.”

Caballero moved to Florida a year ago. Although being Puerto Rican made her a lifelong U.S. citizen, she could vote in primaries but did not gain the right to vote in a presidential race until she moved stateside.

Many other professionals from the island did the same, leaving behind a territory fraught with crime and unemployment. As the Puerto Rican labor force dropped by nearly 172,000 people in the past seven years, many of them came here, particularly Central Florida. In Osceola County, the Hispanic vote increased 62 percent since President Barack Obama took office — a number most experts say is almost entirely attributed to the exodus from Puerto Rico.

Statewide, the Puerto Rican population grew 75 percent in the past decade, to about 850,000. Counties like Broward saw its Puerto Rican population soar 36 percent.

“The island lost a lot of its population,” said Wilfred Benitez, a Puerto Rican Democrat who arrived in 2004 and now runs a voter registration drive in Tampa. “They went somewhere. Florida is like their first port.”

Although Puerto Ricans are expected to turn out for the presidential race, they often sit out state and local races, Benitez said. This vote will be particularly baffling for many newcomers, he said, because so many amendments are on the ballot and many contested races are for positions that in Puerto Rico are appointed by the governor.

“They can play a determining role in these elections,” he said, “but I am noticing that these people don’t understand that.”

Not only has the share of Cuban voters among the Hispanic electorate shrank, but, for the first time, the number of Latino voters now outnumbers blacks.

“This migration could be a game-changer for the Democrats if these individuals turn out to vote,” said Casey Klofstad, a political scientist at the University of Miami. “In a close race, any one group can be a decider. Puerto Ricans are the swing group in a swing state.”

Klofstad said the Puerto Rican vote is of particular interest, because its electorate here changed so drastically with such a large influx of people.

Experts say the population boom caused the candidates to “rediscover Puerto Rico.” President Obama made a historic visit to the island last year, and stumped in Central Florida last month with two former Puerto Rico governors. Gov. Mitt Romney was endorsed by the island’s sitting governor during a campaign stop in Orlando.

A major truck crash has closed southbound Okeechobee Road. One of the drivers, who was missing among the debris for a while, has been found dead.

A Key Biscayne officer struggles to once again be the fun-loving person she was before she was injured in the shooting on Florida’s Turnpike in May.

The Sweetwater police officer who died in a motorcycle crash Sunday will be buried Tuesday.

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Power of the Florida court system at center of Amendment 5

TALLAHASSEE -- After years of clashes with the Florida Supreme Court, the Legislature is asking voters for more power over the state’s judicial branch.

Voters will decide Nov. 6 whether to approve the controversial Amendment 5, which would give lawmakers authority to confirm Supreme Court justices selected by the governor, view complaints against justices as soon as they are filed, and more easily override court rules.

Titled “State Courts,” the amendment is among the most contentious on the November ballot, with supporters arguing it would improve court oversight and accountability. Opponents characterize the proposal as an attempt by legislators to politicize the courts and intimidate justices who have struck down new laws as unconstitutional.

House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, who helped put the amendment on the ballot, said the measure is not about retribution but about making moderate changes that are long overdue.

“This is not a power grab, it’s a power adjustment,” Cannon said. “This is a step to bring more transparency to the courts and bring the state more in line with the federal system.”

It’s only right for the Senate to confirm Supreme Court justices, he argued.

Florida’s system of selecting judges is dominated by the governor, and is relatively closed compared to the federal system, where candidates are openly discussed on the Senate floor, he said.

Cannon also argued that the Legislature — as the lawmaking branch — should have more say in the court rules, some of which are as meaningful as law. State lawmakers can now override rules by a two-thirds vote, a standard high enough to prevent the Legislature from intervening in all but extraordinary circumstances.

Rules are typically mundane, and lawmakers rarely weigh in. But once in a while, on hot button issues, they want their say.

For example, the Legislature put pressure on the courts several years ago to make sure prosecutors got the last word in death penalty cases.

Alex Villalobos, a former Republican state senator, believes legislators already have enough sway on rules.

“The Legislature is doing this because they want to interfere with the way the court is run,” said Villalobos, president of Democracy at Stake, a Tallahassee group with a mission to maintain the independence of Florida courts. “The Senate can act according to the Senate rules, the courts should be able to act on their own rules.”

Justice Harry Lee Anstead, who retired from the Florida Supreme Court in 2009, said Florida’s system has worked well for 35 years, and additional oversight is unnecessary.

For example, Florida’s governor doesn’t select justices independently, as the president does, but from a list supplied by a nine-member committee. Also, federal Supreme Court justices are appointed for life while Florida justices must face voters every six years — in a process known as merit retention.

“This is a blatant attempt to politicize appointments and emasculate a merit retention system that has worked well,” Anstead said.

Florida Bar Association President Gwynne Young also spoke out against the provision of the amendment that would require the court to turn over a complaint when it is filed.

“It’s sensitive for someone to make a complaint against a sitting judge. For that reason confidentiality is very important,” she said. “You want people to be able to make a report without risking retribution.”

Opponents of the bill have also raised questions about whether the House speaker would use complaints — even those that are unfounded — to intimidate judges they dislike. Under the current system, a court panel investigates complaints internally and releases the information if they find probable cause.

And some top Republicans have hardly been shy about their animosity.

Frequently, lawmakers have railed against justices for “legislating from the bench,” and the Republican Party of Florida — in an unprecedented move — endorsed a plan to unseat three Supreme Court justices who are up for retention.

Several sitting lawmakers, including more moderate Republicans, criticized the party for injecting partisan politics into the courts rather than encouraging voters to retain or reject judges based on whether they do their jobs with competence and integrity.

Yet, Bob Sanchez, director of public policy at the conservative-leaning James Madison Institute, said it’s more important to make investigations transparent than to protect the privacy of the justices. Under the current process, nobody knows whether complaints are investigated properly, he said.

“People in public office sometimes lose their expectation of privacy,” he said. “This would put the courts in the sunshine.”

Contact Brittany Alana Davis at bdavis@tampabay.com or 850-323-0353.

Questions from the Federal Election Commission were bound to arise after Justin Lamar Sternad filed 17 blank pages as his Democratic campaign close-out report for October.

A Sanford judge said there is no evidence that Zimmerman’s defense lawyer has spoken out so much that it will be impossible to seat a jury in his murder trial.

Passage of Amendment 5 would give lawmakers authority to confirm Supreme Court justices selected by the governor.

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Signature a must for absentee ballots

Voting absentee?

Absentee ballots must be received by the county supervisor of elections no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 6. Absentee ballot signatures must match the signature on file with the supervisor of elections. You can track your absentee ballot at registration. Learn more by visiting the Florida Department of Elections website: elections.myflorida.com.

TALLAHASSEE -- When people in Florida vote by absentee ballot, something very basic is often absent: their signature.

From Key West to Pensacola, thousands of absentee or mail ballots were discarded in the Aug. 14 statewide primary because voters overlooked a requirement that they sign the envelope containing their ballot, even though the instructions conspicuously remind voters to do it.

“It is important that voters complete their own ballot and sign the outside of the absentee envelope themselves,” said Mike Ertel, supervisor of elections in Seminole County near Orlando.

“Each voter needs to sign their own absentee envelope.”

Ertel said voters mistakenly believe that a spouse or family member can sign the envelope on behalf of the voter. They can’t.

Seminole County is smack in the middle of the pivotal I-4 corridor, an area well-stocked with swing voters who could prove decisive in the Nov. 6 presidential election. Millions more Floridians will vote in November than voted in August.

As “no excuse” absentee voting grows in popularity in Florida, elections officials are redoubling their efforts and reminding voters to take their time and fill out the ballot paperwork properly, or risk having their votes not be counted.

Election supervisors emphasize that every vote is carefully scrutinized — including provisional ballots and absentee ballots. Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley said an “urban legend” has sprouted up in Florida that provisional ballots are not examined in some cases. They are, always, Corley said.

Absentee ballots are more common, especially in Pinellas County, where Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark promotes the convenience of at-home voting, with ballot drop-off centers throughout the county.

At the county elections center in Largo, thousands of absentees arrive and depart daily and are categorized using state-of-the-art sorting equipment. Employees seated at computer screens check to be sure that the signature on an absentee ballot matches the same voter’s signature on file.

“There has to be enough of the signature that matches what we have on file, so that we’re comfortable that it’s the same person,” Clark said. “If we feel it’s the voter’s signature, we’ll accept it. If it’s a close call, it goes to the canvassing board.”

Pinellas’ three-member canvassing board was busy in the days after the Aug. 14 primary, when a total of 1,024 questionable absentee ballots were presented to the board, which is composed of a judge, a county commissioner and a staff member of the county elections office.

Ultimately, 302 ballots were rejected, a fraction of the countywide total of 102,625 returned absentees, according to the agency’s website. The other 722 questionable absentee ballots were declared valid and were counted by the canvassing board.

Pinellas’ rejected primary absentee ballots fell mainly into three major categories. Slightly more than half of the rejected mail ballots, 153, lacked a signature, while 85 others were tossed because the signature on the absentee ballot didn’t match the on-file signature of the same voter. An additional 46 absentee ballots were discarded because they were signed by someone other than the voter.

Other counties report similar percentages of rejected absentee ballots, with a variety of different problems that resulted in the votes not being counted.

Questions from the Federal Election Commission were bound to arise after Justin Lamar Sternad filed 17 blank pages as his Democratic campaign close-out report for October.

A Sanford judge said there is no evidence that Zimmerman’s defense lawyer has spoken out so much that it will be impossible to seat a jury in his murder trial.

Passage of Amendment 5 would give lawmakers authority to confirm Supreme Court justices selected by the governor.

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Hazardous release in NM sickens 200 near El Paso

SANTA TERESA, N.M. -- New Mexico authorities say an unknown hazardous material release sickened about 200 people Tuesday near the Mexican border just northwest of El Paso, Texas.

A one-mile area surrounding the industrial park and border crossing at Santa Teresa was evacuated for a few hours Tuesday, and the nearby airport was closed. By Tuesday afternoon, only the industrial park remained off-limits as hazmat crews took samples to determine what made the people sick.

A New Mexico National Guard support team was en route to help with monitoring and testing.

Officials say some people from businesses in the industrial park were taken to Santa Teresa High School as a precaution after complaining of breathing problems, light-headedness, nausea and dizziness.

Some people also described a burning sensation on their skin.

"I got there after they barricaded the road. When I rolled down the window, I started feeling irritation on my skin," said Gerardo Gomez, who was on his way to work. "It felt like when you get chile on your skin."

Workers a few miles away said they could smell something in the air.

No serious injuries were reported and no one was hospitalized.

Dona Ana County spokeswoman Kelly Jameson said officials started getting calls from people about 8:30 a.m.

Emergency officials from Texas and New Mexico responded, and people in nearby homes and businesses were told to stay indoors, seal all doors and windows and turn off air conditioning and heating systems.

Officials said the evacuation area did not include any homes.

Classes were also cancelled at a medical college located in the industrial area, which is also home to wire and paper manufacturing businesses and warehouses.

On Maryland's jagged coastline, hurricane-riled waves destroyed an iconic pier and floodwaters forced caskets from graves in a town famed for crabbing. In the mountainous western edges, 2 feet of snow snapped power lines, downed trees and left tractor-trailers jackknifed along an interstate. 1351629848

Fort Worth-area authorities have released the name of the man who died in police custody after ramming his car into a church wall and then fatally beating the pastor. 1351628948

Stripped of its bustle and mostly cut off from the world, New York was left wondering Tuesday when its particular way of life - carried by subway, lit by skyline and powered by 24-hour deli - would return. 1351628970

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Miami-Dade’s Pets’ Trust would be a national model

BY ELINOR J. BRECHER The Miami Herald

A poster greets owners surrendering their pets at Miami-Dade Animal Services’ shelter:

“We work tirelessly to save as many pets abandoned at Animal Services as possible...But last year, 3,558 of 5,182 kittens (68%), 8,267 of 9,233 cats (90%), 1,139 of 5,166 puppies (22%) and 7,072 of 16,300 dogs (43%) were euthanized because there were not enough homes for them. Please make sure you have exhausted all other options before leaving a pet at Animal Services.’’

But most people who hand over cats and dogs at the Medley shelter haven’t sought other options, much less exhausted them, and neither the stark statistics or frank talk from shelter personnel make much difference.

Gloria Acevedo brought 4-year-old Ariel, the mixed terrier she’s had since puppyhood, to the receiving room of Animal Services one day in September.

The dog had “mental problems,’’ she said. “She goes in the street. She almost bit a little boy.’’

Wagging her tail, Ariel stared expectantly up at Acevedo, who began to cry.

“I hope someone adopts her,’’ said Acevedo, of Homestead.

Leo Romero, animal care specialist supervisor, knows that’s unlikely. Ariel is no beauty. She’s had several litters and lost some teeth when she was hit by a car.

He tried to persuade Acevedo to reconsider, suggesting that if Ariel were spayed, she’d calm down — and if she stayed at the shelter, she’d probably die.

“We can do [the spaying] here for $30,’’ he said. “She’s a good dog and she’s very attached to you.’’

Acevedo brightened.

“OK, I’m gonna do that!’’ she said. But her husband wanted none of it.

“I’m not driving back up here,’’ said Jose Ramos. “You can’t keep her.’’

They headed for the door, leaving Ariel behind.

In came Isabel Fuentes and her 7-year-old-son Renato, with the brown puppy they’d gotten from Animal Services just days earlier.

“We live in an apartment,’’ Fuentes said, as her reason for returning the dog. And he was throwing up, Renato added.

Shelter personnel have heard every reason and every excuse in the receiving room: “I’m moving to a place that doesn’t accept animals.’’ “I lost my job.’’ “My kids are allergic.’’ “We changed the decor and the dog doesn’t match.’’ “It pees in the house.’’ “It scratches the furniture.’’

“I had a lady yesterday who brought in a dog because it had worms,’’ an easily treatable problem, Romero said. “I gave her a packet of dewormer.’’

People even give up their pets because they get fleas, he said, “but mostly, they just don’t want to deal with it anymore.’’

By the next day, the puppy, renamed Miles by the shelter staff, went home with a new family.

Nine days after the Homestead couple dropped her off, Ariel became one of some 20,000 animals to die this year in the shelter’s euthanasia room for the same reason: No one wanted her, and new arrivals needed the space.

The root problem, say animal activists, is overpopulation, and a non-binding question on the Nov. 6 ballot asks voters if they’d be willing to spend a few dollars a year to stop it.

A major truck crash has closed southbound Okeechobee Road. One of the drivers, who was missing among the debris for a while, has been found dead.

A Key Biscayne officer struggles to once again be the fun-loving person she was before she was injured in the shooting on Florida’s Turnpike in May.

The Sweetwater police officer who died in a motorcycle crash Sunday will be buried Tuesday.

View the original article here

Tidal surge swamps NJ towns; body found in river

A year after Irene, US prepares for superstorm

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A year after Irene, US prepares for superstorm

A year after being walloped by Hurricane Irene, residents rushed to put away boats, harvest crops and sandbag boardwalks Friday as the Eastern Seaboard braced for a rare megastorm that experts said would cause much greater havoc.

A year after Irene, US prepares for superstorm

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A year after Irene, US prepares for superstorm

A year after being walloped by Hurricane Irene, residents rushed to put away boats, harvest crops and sandbag boardwalks Friday as the Eastern Seaboard braced for a rare megastorm that experts said would cause much greater havoc.

Water, fire, destruction: NYC after the superstorm

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Water, fire, destruction: NYC after the superstorm

The massive storm that pummeled the East killed 10 people in New York City and left the nation's largest city eerily quiet Tuesday, with no running trains, a darkened business district and neighborhoods under water.

Water, fire, destruction: NYC after the superstorm

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Water, fire, destruction: NYC after the superstorm

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the death toll in the city from the huge storm is up to 10.

Coastal areas bear brunt of Sandy's damaging wrath

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Coastal areas bear brunt of Sandy's damaging wrath

A string of New Jersey's barrier islands got cut off from the mainland by storm surges. Crashing waves shattered part of a landmark fishing pier in Maryland. And dangerous winds forced the busy port in Portland, Maine, to close.

MOONACHIE, N.J. -- A tidal surge triggered by superstorm Sandy sent water overflowing a riverbank and gushing out of storm drains, quickly swamping two northern New Jersey towns and setting off a frantic middle-of-the-night rescue of people stranded in houses and on rooftops.

Authorities said the body of a man was recovered from the river Tuesday morning upstream from the main flood zone, where rescues were carried out through the night.

Gov. Chris Christie said hundreds of stranded people were rescued when the tidal surge up the Hackensack River resulted in water overflowing a natural berm.

The body was recovered in the city of Hackensack, where flooding also occurred but was less severe. The victim was not immediately identified, and county officials said they did not yet have a cause of death.

In Moonachie, a town of 2,700 about 10 miles northwest of Manhattan, police Sgt. Tom Schmidt said water rose to 5 feet within 45 minutes, making roads impassable and cutting off residents who thought the worst from the superstorm was over.

The floodwaters also knocked out the police and fire departments, forcing them to relocate to a business in a neighboring community.

Schmidt said rescuers had trouble using boats to carry out rescues because water levels were varying from several feet to only inches. Trucks were also used.

Mobile home park resident Juan Allen told The Associated Press that water overflowed a 2-foot-wall along a nearby creek during the tidal surge, filling the area with 2 to 3 feet of water within 15 minutes and eventually as much as 5 feet.

"I saw trees not just knocked down but ripped right out of the ground," he said. "I watched a tree crush a guy's house like a wet sponge."

He said rescuers moved in quickly to get people out.

"There's no way you're going to be ready for something like this," he said.

In neighboring Little Ferry, population 10,000, residents reported water suddenly started gushing out of storm drains late Monday night, and within 90 minutes, 4 feet of water was in the road and entering houses.

"I looked out and the next thing you know, the water just came up through the grates. It came up so quickly you couldn't do anything about it. If you wanted to move your car to higher ground, you didn't have enough time," said Little Ferry resident Leo Quigley, who was taken with his wife to higher ground by boat and later went to a shelter set up in a school gym.

Residents of Little Ferry, situated near the confluence of the Hackensack River and a major creek, had put out sandbags and said they thought they had escaped damage when the water started coming out of the storm drains.

Janice Kama was playing cards with her husband by candlelight Monday night after power went out when her poodle terrier mix started looking out the screen door.

"I thought she saw an animal," Kama said. "Then my husband looked out the back door and said, 'Oh, my god.' It was like rapids coming down the block and down the sidewalk, like someone turned on a faucet."

Rescued residents were taken to the gym at a vocational-technical school in neighboring Teterboro.

Local and county officials reported during the night that a levee had broken, but the governor and emergency officials said that turned out to be incorrect.

Bergen County Emergency Management coordinator Dwane Razzetti said "an overwhelming tidal push" essentially caused the river to back up and overflow its banks.

"No one has ever seen water come up so quickly," he said.

On Maryland's jagged coastline, hurricane-riled waves destroyed an iconic pier and floodwaters forced caskets from graves in a town famed for crabbing. In the mountainous western edges, 2 feet of snow snapped power lines, downed trees and left tractor-trailers jackknifed along an interstate. 1351629848

Fort Worth-area authorities have released the name of the man who died in police custody after ramming his car into a church wall and then fatally beating the pastor. 1351628948

Stripped of its bustle and mostly cut off from the world, New York was left wondering Tuesday when its particular way of life - carried by subway, lit by skyline and powered by 24-hour deli - would return. 1351628970

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Dania Beach candidates will answer questions at Tuesday night forum

Candidates for the Dania Beach City Commission will meet face-to-face with residents at a forum on Tuesday.

The Friends of the Paul DeMaio Library will host the meeting at City Hall, 100 W. Dania Beach Blvd. It starts at 7 p.m.

The field of seven candidates vying for spots on the City’s Commission will answer to the concerns of voters before the upcoming Nov. 6 election.

There are three open seats and two commissioners — Walter Duke and C.K. McElyea — are up for re-election. Commissioner Ann Castro will not run due to term limits.

The other candidates include: Chickie Brandimarte, a community activist and president of the Dania Beach Senior Citizens Club; Bruce Hannover, a member of the airport advisory committee; Bill Harris, a member of the city’s planning and zoning board; Albert C. Jones, a former Dania Beach and Broward County commissioner and Rae L. Sandler, president of the Melaleuca Gardens Homeowner’s Association.

Major points of discussion are expected to be the city’s ongoing battle with Broward County on the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport expansion, property taxes and economic development along the city’s waterfront.

Candidates for the Dania Beach City Commission will meet face-to-face with residents at a forum on Tuesday.

A Dania Beach man is in police custody, facing charges hit-and-run charges in the death of a man last Christmas Eve.

Residents can lend a hand to Dania Beach’s community garden Saturday by volunteering to plant seedlings on a vacant lot near the corner of Northwest First Street and 12th Avenue.

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Romney set to visit UM this week

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is heading to the University of Miami on Wednesday, according to his campaign.

The Romney visit will come just three days after a Miami Herald poll showed President Barack Obama’s numbers aren’t where they need to be in Miami-Dade, Florida’s most-populous county, if he wants to carry the Sunshine State.

To win Florida, Obama needs a big lead in Miami-Dade, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 15 percentage points, 44-29 percent. Obama won Miami-Dade by a 16-point margin in 2008.

A Sunday Miami Herald poll, however, shows Obama is winning Miami-Dade by only 9 percentage points. As of Sunday morning, after the first day of in-person early voting, Democrats narrowly led Republicans in all 153,000 ballots (absentee and in-person) cast in Miami-Dade, 42-40 percent.

Romney’s strategy: Keep Obama from running up big numbers in Southeast Florida, the most liberal region of the state.

Romney is winning in conservative North Florida, and a Tampa Bay Times poll Sunday showed the Republican is carrying the center of the state, nicknamed the I-4 Corridor, 51-45 percent over Obama.

Obama visits the heart of the I-4 Corridor, Orlando, on Monday with former President Bill Clinton. Vice President Joe Biden will visit some areas of the state on Wednesday.

Assuming the schedule holds, Wednesday marks the second time Romney has visited the University of Miami.

Florida is must-win for Romney. Obama, who doesn’t need Florida as badly as Romney, has visited UM three times this year.

A major truck crash has closed southbound Okeechobee Road. One of the drivers, who was missing among the debris for a while, has been found dead.

A Key Biscayne officer struggles to once again be the fun-loving person she was before she was injured in the shooting on Florida’s Turnpike in May.

The Sweetwater police officer who died in a motorcycle crash Sunday will be buried Tuesday.

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Another ballot problem found in Palm Beach County

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Another ballot error is causing problems for Palm Beach County elections officials.

New absentee ballots are being sent to about 500 people after they received ones omitting one of the proposed amendments to the state constitution.

The Palm Beach Post reports ( http://bit.ly/SZqRHk) the ballots did not include Amendment 5, but gave voters the chance to log their preference twice for Amendments 1, 2 and 3.

The error comes after an earlier issue involving 27,000 ballots in Palm Beach County. Because of a printing error, a heading was missing, meaning they couldn't be scanned. Election officials have had to painstakingly copy all of those ballots by hand.

The problems, for some, are eerily reminiscent of 2000, when Palm Beach County was at the epicenter of the error-plagued election.

A day after the East Coast superstorm, both presidential candidates were appealing for donations - but for relief agencies instead of for their campaigns. 1351629845

A central Florida man is recovering from dengue fever. 1351624722

Florida is terminating a $20 million contract to build a website intended to help students, parents and teachers master new academic standards going into place. 1351622031

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Man gets 26 years for fatal DUI crash

LARGO, Fla. -- A Tampa Bay area man has been sentenced to 26 years in prison for a fatal drunken driving crash.

As part of a deal with Pinellas County prosecutors, 31-year-old Scott Michael Nicholson was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to two counts of DUI-manslaughter and one count of reckless driving with serious bodily injury.

Authorities say Nicholson was going more than 100 miles per hour in August 2011 when he crashed into another car. His blood alcohol content was later recorded as 0.13 percent. Florida law considers a driver impaired at 0.08 percent.

The Tampa Bay Times ( http://bit.ly/VCaIYA) reports that the crash seriously injured the other car's driver, Devin Plant, and killed its two passengers, 25-year-old Diana Nusspickel and 25-year-old Charles Lutes II.

Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.

Gov. Rick Scott has signed a death warrant for a man convicted of nine murders. 1351640912

A Tampa Bay area man has been sentenced to 26 years in prison for a fatal drunken driving crash. 1351639725

Unemployment rates fell in nearly all large U.S. cities in September from August, a sign that recent jobs gains have been widespread. 1351634039

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Judge denies gag order in George Zimmerman murder case

George Zimmerman’s defense lawyer can continue his controversial social media and public relations strategy, a judge ruled Monday.

Prosecutors handling the second degree murder charge against Zimmerman requested the gag order, because of what they believed was a campaign by the defense to taint the jury.

Seminole County Circuit Judge Debra Nelson decided against issuing the gag order in the high profile murder case, saying that there was no evidence of “an overriding pattern of prejudicial commentary that will overcome reasonable efforts to select a fair and impartial jury.”

Assistant Duval County State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda argued that defense lawyer Mark O’Mara had repeatedly broken accepted Florida Bar Association rules regarding what an attorney can say and about what. O’Mara, he said, has commented publicly on evidence, the credibility of witnesses and even his own client.

The two sides faced off during a two and a half hour hearing Friday before Nelson at the Seminole County courthouse in Sanford.

The Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel and other media companies fought back against the gag order, saying the prosecutor did not present enough evidence to prove it was necessary.

“Judge Nelson recognized that gag orders can be used only as a last resort if there is no other way to make sure there will be an impartial jury,” said Scott Ponce, an attorney for The Miami Herald and other media companies. “Judges have a lot of tools they can use to make sure jurors are impartial, and Judge Nelson is going to use those tools instead entering a gag order.”

The judge added that she ruled on the order “without prejudice,” meaning the lawyers can file more motions on the issue in the future. It was the second time de la Rionda asked for a gag order.

O’Mara is an Orlando criminal defense lawyer who launched a novel public relations strategy, which included a Twitter account and website dedicated just to that case.. A Facebook page was abandoned when it quickly devolved into bickering among users. He has held occasional press conferences and given both national and local TV and newspaper interviews.

O’Mara said he went public with his defense to turn around an onslaught of negative publicity that preceded Zimmerman’s arrest.

Trayvon Martin, 17, was in Sanford Feb. 26 serving out a suspension from Michael Krop Senior High School, where he was a junior. Trayvon was on his way back from a convenience store when he encountered Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who not recognize the teen and found his behavior suspicious.

They struggled, and Zimmerman says he was forced to shoot an unarmed attacker in order to save his own life.

In a separate ruling, Judge Nelson said prosecutors will not have access to Zimmerman’s medical records from before the February shooting. Trayvon’s parents and their lawyer had hoped that lawyers would get to find out what other medications Zimmerman was taken and whether he had suffered injuries on his head or nose prior to the fight with Trayvon.

A trial is tentatively set for June 10.

A Sanford judge said there is no evidence that Zimmerman’s defense lawyer has spoken out so much that it will be impossible to seat a jury in his murder trial.

A judge will decide Monday whether to gag lawyers in the George Zimmerman murder case.

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A judge will decide Friday whether lawyers in the George Zimmerman murder trial should be muzzled.

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Next Mega Money jackpot an estimated $2 million

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- No tickets matched the four winning numbers plus the Mega Ball number, so the jackpot rolled over to an estimated $2 million in the Mega Money game, the Florida Lottery said Wednesday.

Seven tickets won $2,008 each for picking 4-of-4; 39 tickets won $788 each for picking 3-of-4 plus the Mega Ball number; 953 tickets won $96 each for picking 3-of-4; 1,429 tickets won $45 each for picking 2-of-4 plus the Mega Ball; 13,349 won $5 each for matching one number plus the Mega Ball; 28,962 tickets won $3.50 each for picking 2-of-4; and 34,126 won a free Quick Pick ticket for matching the Mega Ball.

The numbers drawn Tuesday night were 09-31-39-41 and the Mega Ball was 08.

No tickets matched the four winning numbers plus the Mega Ball number, so the jackpot rolled over to an estimated $2 million in the Mega Money game, the Florida Lottery said Wednesday. 1351679952

One winner of the "Fantasy 5" game will collect $192,116.92, the Florida Lottery said Wednesday. 1351679952

One winner of the "Fantasy 5" game will collect $192,116.92, the Florida Lottery said Wednesday. 1351679952

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Judge rejects Florida House primary challenge

TALLAHASSEE -- Both key witnesses at the center of the contested House District 107 race denied collecting fraudulent absentee ballots on behalf of the Miami Gardens Democrat who narrowly won the primary.

Wednesday’s testimony prompted Leon County Chief Circuit Judge Charles Francis to rule against Rep. John Patrick Julien, a North Miami candidate who had alleged fraud in trying to overturn his primary election loss to Rep. Barbara Watson.

“I do not think from what I’ve heard today there is sufficient evidence to go further,” Francis said.

Julien, who lost the Aug. 14 primary by just 13 votes, had hoped testimony from Carline Paul, 54, the host of a Haitian Creole-language radio show, and Noucelie Josna, the self-described “Queen of Absentee Ballots,” would help prove his case.

But both women testified that their work for Watson — she paid Paul $1,000 and Josna roughly $4,000 — was within the law.

Paul, who traveled from Miami to testify, said she charged Watson to appear on her show like she does all political candidates. But that it was separate from her work as “Teacher Carline,” where she offers to assist people with the voting process, she told the court.

As “Teacher Carline,” Paul said she helps people understand what they need to do to ensure their vote counts but doesn’t back certain candidates.

“What I do on my radio show doesn’t have anything to do with the education that I’m giving the people,” she said. “The people of the community are confused, so I’m telling them all the steps that they have to do to ensure they are voting properly.”

Getting Josna’s testimony took more effort. Initially, she ignored a court-ordered subpoena. But once she got word that the judge had authorized police to haul her into court, she reached out and agreed to testify via Skype.

Josna did so from the office of Julien’s attorney Wednesday afternoon, saying she spent the morning in an area hospital for a medical procedure.

Josna, 28, told the court that she was hired by Watson to help coordinate her canvassing team in the mostly Haitian-American district and to keep up with voters who requested absentee ballots.

“What I do myself is I track the absentee ballots list through the website, follow it with a phone call,” Josna said.

Julien beat Watson on Election Day, but lost badly in absentee ballots. He has focused his complaint on two districts where he says fraudulent ballots were cast by nursing home residents.

Julien testified Wednesday that he had decided not to actively court absentee voters and parted ways with Paul, who had helped him previously.

Watson told the court she appeared on Paul’s show a few times because she knew the host was respected in the Haitian-American community. She said she hired Josna to reach voters by knocking on doors and distributing literature.

Francis said he did not believe any fraud had taken place. “There was not any evidence of paying for a vote,” he said. “I was listening and looking for that.”

After the case was dismissed, Watson, who faces write-ins for the Nov. 6 general election, said she was relieved at the judge’s decision. Julien and his attorney indicated that they would continue to pursue their claims that the primary was won through fraudulent activity.

Herald/Times writer Toluse Olorunnipa contributed to this report.

Tia Mitchell can be reached at tmitchell@tampabay.com or (850) 224-7263.

Questions from the Federal Election Commission were bound to arise after Justin Lamar Sternad filed 17 blank pages as his Democratic campaign close-out report for October.

A Sanford judge said there is no evidence that Zimmerman’s defense lawyer has spoken out so much that it will be impossible to seat a jury in his murder trial.

Passage of Amendment 5 would give lawmakers authority to confirm Supreme Court justices selected by the governor.

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Insurers say losses from Sandy won't hit Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Insurance experts said Tuesday that home and business owners in Florida should not be affected by insured losses suffered when super storm Sandy ripped through much of the Atlantic seaboard and the Northeast.

Sam Miller of the Florida Insurance Council said the Florida market is dominated by state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and local insurers who operate only in Florida along with a smaller number of Florida-only subsidiaries of a few national carriers.

"The price of homeowner's coverage in Florida in the private market is predominantly driven by scientific estimates of the costs of exposure," said Miller, FIC executive vice president. "Hurricane Sandy will not have a direct impact on these estimates.

Lynne McChristian of the Insurance Information Institute said Sandy's effect on reinsurance markets should be minimal since much of the damage is from water and that is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program.

"Rates charged for insurance in Florida are exclusively based on past and expected losses that occur within our state," said III's McChristian.

Both said Sandy shouldn't have a dramatic effect on the cost of reinsurance either.

"Reinsurers enter Hurricane Sandy with historically high levels of capital, and access to increasing sources of additional private sector capital," Miller said. "Reinsurers, rating agencies and analysts expect vigorous, comprehensive competitive conditions to prevail in 2013, even considering potentially significant regional losses from Hurricane Sandy."

However, Florida business and homeowners have experienced sharp increases in recent years on property policies although the state has not seen a hurricane since Wilma in October 2005.

All increases on property insurance premiums must be approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation, which is recent years has consistently given its OK to hikes - often times by double digit amounts.

OIR spokesman Jack McDermott said it would likely be January at the earliest before regulators would see how insurers respond to losses from Sandy in future rate requests.

"We may begin seeing some impacts of the storm at that time," McDermott said.

A day after the East Coast superstorm, both presidential candidates were appealing for donations - but for relief agencies instead of for their campaigns. 1351629845

A central Florida man is recovering from dengue fever. 1351624722

Florida is terminating a $20 million contract to build a website intended to help students, parents and teachers master new academic standards going into place. 1351622031

View the original article here

Jazz singer walks off Miami stage in dispute over pay

By Christina Veiga, Charles D. Sherman and Julie K. Brown The Miami Herald

The crowd came to hear her sing.

They got an earful, but it wasn’t what they expected. Jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, headlining Friday night’s Miami Nice Jazz Festival at the Gusman Center, told astonished fans, including Miami’s mayor, that she would not perform because the promoters hadn’t been paid in accordance with her contract.

“My contract was signed months ago, but it has not been respected,” said the 62-year-old performer, a three-time Grammy winner.

Then she walked off stage.

It was an ignominious end to a night of musical entertainment highlighting cultural ties between Miami and its sister city in France.

According to Philippe Pautesta-Herder, the Miami-based producer of the festival, the singer took a hike after receiving a check when her contract called for cash or a certified check.

“She made the entire festival look bad,’’ Pautesta-Herder said.

In a brief Twitter exchange with The Miami Herald, Bridgewater blamed “promoter non-compliance with contractual terms.”

Bridgewater, also a Tony award winner, is considered the “godmother,” of the festival, which has been taking place in France since 1948. It came to Miami for the first time this year, part of the sister-city relationship between Miami and Nice.

Bridgewater had played without incident at the French festival in the past. She was scheduled to appear on the Gusman’s Olympia Theater’s stage at 10 p.m.

Organizers had already wired her half of her $17,000 fee, Pautesta-Herder said. About 30 minutes before she was scheduled to take the stage in front of a crowd of about 300, organizers handed Bridgewater a check for the remainder. But her contract called for the check to be certified.

“She gave us hell,’’ Pautesta-Herder said.

For the next 30 minutes, organizers frantically tried to assure Bridgewater that the check was good. Members of the Nice festival left their seats in the audience, sneaking backstage to try to convince her so.

Meanwhile in the auditorium, what was expected to be a 15-minute intermission dragged on for almost an hour. Restless fans began clapping and chanting in anticipation.

Organizers thought they were in the clear when Bridgewater took the check and walked on stage.

“She tricked us into believing she was going to perform, then she walked out and made this statement,’’ Pautesta-Herder said. “Why would she even go on stage? That was ridiculous.”

And embarrassing, he added.

Among the dignitaries at Friday night’s performance were Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado and the French consul-general in Miami, Gael de Maisonneuve.

“That could have happened anywhere. It’s not about the city. It’s about the way the promoter handled the situation,’’ Regalado said Saturday, adding that Miami is committed to hosting the festival, which continued Saturday night, with South Florida-based jazz singer Nicole Henry and the Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band headlining.

Pautesta-Herder said organizers believed Bridgewater would have enough trust in them to accept a check. She did leave with the check even though she didn’t perform, he said.

Ronald Weber, president and artistic director of South Florida JAZZ, a nonprofit that has been putting on shows since 1992, said it’s common for artists to require cash or a certified check in their contract.

He called the disagreement “unfortunate” and said while most musicians would take a check, “artists have had bad experiences over the years … it’s not an unreasonable request,” he said.

Ticket prices for Friday’s concert ranged from $30 for an upper balcony seat to $195 for a small cafe-style table in front of the stage. A ticket to the entire run of shows, along with accommodation at the luxury Conrad hotel on Brickell Avenue, was advertised at $919 for two people.

Even so, Pautesta-Herder said Bridgewater’s fee was not funded by ticket sales.

“We have a lot of private investors,” he said. “We want to make this a major international festival.’’

Grumbling at the fiasco and the late hour, many patrons lined up to get their money back. Earlier in the evening, they heard the FIU University jazz band perform with torch singer Sally Night and later a combo led by bassist Kyle Eastwood, son of actor Clint Eastwood.

In an emailed statement Saturday morning, jazz festival organizers said fans who paid to see Bridgewater could exchange their tickets for another show or choose a full refund. The statement said performances on Saturday and Sunday would go ahead as planned.

Miami Herald contributor Fernando Gonzalez contributed to this story.

A major truck crash has closed southbound Okeechobee Road. One of the drivers, who was missing among the debris for a while, has been found dead.

A Key Biscayne officer struggles to once again be the fun-loving person she was before she was injured in the shooting on Florida’s Turnpike in May.

The Sweetwater police officer who died in a motorcycle crash Sunday will be buried Tuesday.

View the original article here

A Miami priest accused of sex abuse for fourth time shrouds Miami archdiocese in controversy

Tony Simmons says he ran away from his parents’ home and was living on the streets when the Rev. Rolando Garcia offered him a helping hand at the Church of the Little Flower in Hollywood.

“I was pretty lost,” Simmons, 34, told The Miami Herald. “Father Garcia was the only person who talked to me. He was my friend.”

Last week, Simmons, a decorated U.S. Army specialist who served in the Iraq war, accused Garcia in a lawsuit of sexually abusing him during the mid-1990s, starting when he was 16 years old.

For the first time in recent memory, Miami’s Catholic Church leaders reacted defensively to his negligence suit, the latest of more than 100 filed against the local archdiocese since the clergy-sex abuse scandal broke nationwide a decade ago.

Even before church officials saw Simmons’ suit, the archdiocese issued an unprecedented statement on Tuesday suggesting that if the news media wanted to write a “balanced story,” reporters should ask Simmons’ lawyer where he found him as a client, why he took so long to come forward and why was he homeless?

The Archdiocese of Miami’s official response heightened a controversy already enveloping Garcia, now pastor of St. Agatha Catholic Church in West Miami-Dade, who had been accused of abuse in three previous lawsuits brought by a trio of other alleged victims.

The archdiocese settled two of those complaints, though Garcia was not found liable in the settlements.

In the third complaint, lodged in August, the archdiocese found the allegations “not credible,” saying in a news statement released Wednesday that Garcia “voluntarily took a lie-detector test that supported his denial of having abused anyone at any time.”

The alleged victim, a Mariel boatlift refugee who said he had met Garcia as a seminarian in the early 1980s, was also interviewed by archdiocese lawyers. But the accuser did not take a polygraph test. No other details were disclosed, and there has been no settlement in that case.

In all three instances, Garcia was placed on temporary suspension and later restored to his leadership post.

But hundreds of St. Agatha School parents remained outraged, pushing for Garcia’s removal as pastor in a petition posted in September on Facebook.

“We feel that the integrity as well as the reputation of our school and church has been continually tarnished by past and present allegations against Father Garcia,” the parents wrote in the petition. “There is a genuine feeling of disgust at the lack of action by both St. Agatha School and the Archdiocese of Miami.”

On Wednesday, the archdiocese placed Garcia, who has served as St. Agatha’s pastor since 2001, on administrative leave while it investigates the fourth abuse complaint, which was lodged by Simmons in a lawsuit filed the previous day in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

Garcia, who was born in Cuba and ordained as a priest in 1986, hung up on a Miami Herald reporter who reached him on his cellphone Friday.

After Simmons’ suit was filed, the archdiocese’s communications director zeroed in on his lawyer, Jeff Herman, a longtime archdiocese adversary. In an official statement issued Tuesday, Mary Ross Agosta wrote: “Mr Herman has filed several lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Miami involving Fr. Garcia and yet to date, none have been proven credible.”

A major truck crash has closed southbound Okeechobee Road. One of the drivers, who was missing among the debris for a while, has been found dead.

A Key Biscayne officer struggles to once again be the fun-loving person she was before she was injured in the shooting on Florida’s Turnpike in May.

The Sweetwater police officer who died in a motorcycle crash Sunday will be buried Tuesday.

View the original article here

Snow and cold doesn't deter some Smokies visitors

NEWFOUND GAP, Tenn. -- Highway 441 across the Smokies was closed on Tuesday as heavy, wet snow continued to fall.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park spokeswoman Dana Soehn said snow at Newfound Gap had reached about 24 inches late Tuesday morning, and some snow drifts were as high as 3 or 4 feet.

At LeConte Lodge, the highest guest lodge in the eastern U.S., the 15-or-so visitors already there were encouraged to stay an additional night. Those who had reservations but had not yet arrived were encouraged to stay away.

Soehn said that with road closures the hike between the lodge and the nearest parking area would be at least six miles.

"It really is waist-deep snow, and most people are not prepared for that," she said.

Another 30 people had overnight reservations along the Appalachian Trail's backcountry shelters, although park officials did not know how many of those people had followed through with their hiking plans.

Soehn said they have received no distress calls.

Dean Siornicke of Spring Hill, Fla., and friend Leland Kinkade told the Knoxville News Sentinel on Monday that the snow didn't bother them.

"This is what we came here for," Kinkade said. "We just found a shelter and as much wood as we could for the fire and hung a tarp over the door. It was about 31 degrees outside and about 50 degrees inside. We had a blast."

But Jenny and Terry Bourg were not as prepared for the storm when they came from Houma, La., to rent a cabin for their 25th wedding anniversary.

As they struggled to make their way through the snow on Monday, Terry Bourg told the paper, "We've seen nothing like this in our lives."

Snow and high winds were expected to continue through Wednesday morning.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeremy Heidt said the only storm-related problem reported to the agency as of Tuesday morning was an overturned salt truck in Carter County.

A day after the East Coast superstorm, both presidential candidates were appealing for donations - but for relief agencies instead of for their campaigns. 1351629845

A central Florida man is recovering from dengue fever. 1351624722

Florida is terminating a $20 million contract to build a website intended to help students, parents and teachers master new academic standards going into place. 1351622031

View the original article here

Fla. scuttles deal to build education website

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida is terminating a $20 million contract to build a website intended to help students, parents and teachers master new academic standards going into place.

The move by the Department of Education comes a week after the Tallahassee technology company hired to build the website filed its own lawsuit that charged the agency violated the contract.

State education officials maintain Infinity Software Development fell significantly behind designing and building the website. The agency also asserts the company did not turn in acceptable lessons and tests in areas such as math, civics and biology.

One example cited by education officials is Infinity employees used the phrase "pursuit of happiness" to discuss the preamble to the U.S. Constitution even though the words actually appear in the Declaration of Independence.

A day after the East Coast superstorm, both presidential candidates were appealing for donations - but for relief agencies instead of for their campaigns. 1351629845

A central Florida man is recovering from dengue fever. 1351624722

Florida is terminating a $20 million contract to build a website intended to help students, parents and teachers master new academic standards going into place. 1351622031

View the original article here